A few days after the ER visit, I took Emmett to his follow up with our pediatrician. I had all the kids with me, and Harrison was still having an extremely bad sore throat, so when the doctor asked how everyone was doing, I told him about Harrison and how he still wasn't doing better.
Here is what I found out:
The doctor told me that teenagers can get a micoplasma infection that can cause a severe sore throat that won't go away. So he put Harrison on a zpac. Before he was even finished with the antibiotic (that you only take for five days) his sore throat was completely gone. Hallelujah! To be honest, I questioned the other doctor's assessment that Harrison might have mono, for the main reason that he just wasn't tired enough. With mono, it doesn't matter if you want to be awake, you seriously just sleep, all day and night, and it still isn't enough.
Anyway, glad that was taken care of.
Now on to Emmett.
When I saw Emmett's xray it looked very similar to the xray he ended up with last year when they told me he also had pneumonia, and then the pediatrician really felt like he had RSV because of what the xray looked like.
Well, we knew he didn't have RSV because that test came back negative, but when our doctor listened to Emmett's lungs at his appointment three days later, they sounded clear. Based on the xray, he felt that Emmett had a different virus, that is actually worse than RSV, but shows up on an xray as very similar to RSV. So, we are very blessed that it didn't affect his breathing worse and have to be hospitalized.
By the time he had his follow up appointment, the retracted breathing was all gone, and his respirations per minute were back to normal. So, those are all really good things.
Even though he ended up probably not needing to go to the ER, I am still glad that I took him. I always feel like the ER is a double edged sword. You don't want anything to be really wrong, but when it is, you feel justified for making the trip...but you hate that something was wrong. If nothing is wrong, that is wonderful, but you feel like you just wasted a ton of money going to the ER.
In Emmett's case though, he really was sick, and how bad would I have felt if I didn't go and he ended up not breathing and dying because I was too stubborn to take him in? Yep, I would much rather pay the ER bill and have peace of mind in knowing that I did everything I could as a parent to help him be as healthy as possible.
Showing posts with label illness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illness. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
An Epiphany of Sorts
It has been a long month. At least it feels like a month. I guess technically it's been three weeks. Time goes by really slow when you're sick. It goes by even slower when your sick, and two little ones are sick. Maybe that's why it feels like a month, because for Emmett, it's been a month!
First he had roseola, then a cold, and now croup. The croup was the kicker. It landed him in the ER twice.
I think I can honestly say that I really hate croup.
Anyway, that's not why I'm writing this post.
Sunday was a bad day. I had reached my threshold. I was DONE. I just wanted to be better, and have Emmett and Jeffrey better too. Watching Emmett's little chest suck in and out, and knowing we needed to go back to the hospital, was the straw. I just started bawling and letting out all the negative guilty emotions that were built up inside of me.
It was pretty cleansing. It needed to happen. Before that point I was getting ornerier and ornerier and taking it out on my poor family. Not wanting to or meaning to, but it just kind of oozed out.
Shane finally said to me...quit worrying about how long you've been sick and let your body heal.
HEAL.
It was a defining moment. I let it go. I stopped worrying about the timeframe, and started telling my body to please heal.
I almost immediately felt better than I had.
Last night I started getting a sore throat. This morning it was worse. I didn't even complain about it on facebook, just asked people what they did for sore throats.
Then I tried a few things that I never had before. Cayenne pepper is nasty, but helpful. And the green smoothie Shane made for me was quite refreshing and delicious and must have been what I needed because Shane thought it tasted 'weird'.
So hear's to healing, and hoping that I will continue to heal and get better!
First he had roseola, then a cold, and now croup. The croup was the kicker. It landed him in the ER twice.
I think I can honestly say that I really hate croup.
Anyway, that's not why I'm writing this post.
Sunday was a bad day. I had reached my threshold. I was DONE. I just wanted to be better, and have Emmett and Jeffrey better too. Watching Emmett's little chest suck in and out, and knowing we needed to go back to the hospital, was the straw. I just started bawling and letting out all the negative guilty emotions that were built up inside of me.
It was pretty cleansing. It needed to happen. Before that point I was getting ornerier and ornerier and taking it out on my poor family. Not wanting to or meaning to, but it just kind of oozed out.
Shane finally said to me...quit worrying about how long you've been sick and let your body heal.
HEAL.
It was a defining moment. I let it go. I stopped worrying about the timeframe, and started telling my body to please heal.
I almost immediately felt better than I had.
Last night I started getting a sore throat. This morning it was worse. I didn't even complain about it on facebook, just asked people what they did for sore throats.
Then I tried a few things that I never had before. Cayenne pepper is nasty, but helpful. And the green smoothie Shane made for me was quite refreshing and delicious and must have been what I needed because Shane thought it tasted 'weird'.
So hear's to healing, and hoping that I will continue to heal and get better!
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Sad
Well, I found out today that my classmate passed away. The one I wrote about previously, that had cancer. Very sad. I am grateful that I know and believe in a hereafter, and that one day he will be with his wife and kids again.
Still...very sad. :(
Still...very sad. :(
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Sobering
I found out a few years ago that one of my classmates from high school had his leg amputated to the knee because of cancer. I worked at a hospital at the time and found out the information from his brother, whom I occasionally worked with in the operating room.
I remember at the time feeling sad for him because my memories of him in high school were of him being an amazing athlete in basketball and track and field.
Then about a month ago I found out that he'd had to have his whole leg amputated, and then that he kept getting tumors in his lungs and shoulders.
He's decided to try an alternative treatment since chemotherapy hasn't helped. Insurance won't cover the cost so they've set up a donation fund for him and his family. You can check it out here:
http://pledgie.com/campaigns/20826for
It's very sobering for me to find out when my classmates have health issues like this. It gives me a reality check on my own life.
Does it really matter that my flowers are dying? No.
I remember what one of my neighbors, who ended up dying because of cancer, told us... Everyone talks about living like you're dying... but that's just baloney. I just want to watch my sons grow up. That's the most important thing, to be there for my kids.
I think of this and of my classmate, and my heart aches for his family. I hope this alternative treatment helps him so he can live to see his kids grow up.
I remember at the time feeling sad for him because my memories of him in high school were of him being an amazing athlete in basketball and track and field.
Then about a month ago I found out that he'd had to have his whole leg amputated, and then that he kept getting tumors in his lungs and shoulders.
He's decided to try an alternative treatment since chemotherapy hasn't helped. Insurance won't cover the cost so they've set up a donation fund for him and his family. You can check it out here:
http://pledgie.com/campaigns/20826for
It's very sobering for me to find out when my classmates have health issues like this. It gives me a reality check on my own life.
Does it really matter that my flowers are dying? No.
I remember what one of my neighbors, who ended up dying because of cancer, told us... Everyone talks about living like you're dying... but that's just baloney. I just want to watch my sons grow up. That's the most important thing, to be there for my kids.
I think of this and of my classmate, and my heart aches for his family. I hope this alternative treatment helps him so he can live to see his kids grow up.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Breathe II
After a horrible night last night, where I felt like I was suffocating and couldn't get enough air... (I think I slept two complete hours in a row), today I went to the doctor. I had to see a doctor I don't normally go to, but it was either that or the ER and I really didn't want to pay an ER bill.
Anyway, he told me to absolutely start my second z-pac today, and also prescribed an albuterol inhaler and some prednisone for me to take by mouth. When he listened to my lungs he concurred that there was a lot of wheezing going on, and that he had seen a lot of people with this particular illness where the breathing had bronchospasms. Which basically means that your body is acting like it has asthma even though it doesn't.
The albuterol and prednisone have definitely helped. I don't feel like I am trying to breathe through a straw anymore.
I am glad that even with all the wheezing, my oxygen level was still really good, and my heartrate was really good too. My blood pressure was pretty high, but I think that's because I was really anxious as to what they would find out.
So, hopefully I am on the mend will continue to feel better here on out.
Anyway, he told me to absolutely start my second z-pac today, and also prescribed an albuterol inhaler and some prednisone for me to take by mouth. When he listened to my lungs he concurred that there was a lot of wheezing going on, and that he had seen a lot of people with this particular illness where the breathing had bronchospasms. Which basically means that your body is acting like it has asthma even though it doesn't.
The albuterol and prednisone have definitely helped. I don't feel like I am trying to breathe through a straw anymore.
I am glad that even with all the wheezing, my oxygen level was still really good, and my heartrate was really good too. My blood pressure was pretty high, but I think that's because I was really anxious as to what they would find out.
So, hopefully I am on the mend will continue to feel better here on out.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Breathe
Today I am grateful for good health... I am grateful for that, because it is something I'm not really experiencing right now!
A few weeks ago...hmm...I think it was right after Christmas time, Jeffrey and I got a nasty cold. His automatically had a cough attached... mine just had a lot of kleenex usage involved... I helped temper it by using essential oils, but I still got sinusitis.
Tomorrow I start my second round of zithromax. Zithromax isn't something they typically like to give to people for sinusitis, because it doesn't stay in the system long enough, but since I am allergic to almost every other family of antibiotics, they have to prescribe it to me.
This is one of the huge reasons why I try to get the infections and things to not even start by using essential oils when I first get a virus.
I did start to feel better almost immediately after starting the first round...but then, whether because I got a different cold with similar symptoms or what, the drainage slowly started returning, and now I have a lovely cough too, and I've lost my voice, and basically just feel yucko.
My OB doctor knows about it though, so I am definitely keeping tabs with him, and tonight I finally got the humidifier out...or I guess I should say, Shane got the humidifier out, and hopefully that will help too.
My last monthly OB visit was on Wednesday, and everything sounded and measured fine. Now I start having appointments every two weeks! At my next visit they will do another ultrasound.
I went and saw my chiropractor today too. Hopefully that will boost my immune system enough to get rid of this nasty cold! Apparently being adjusted can boost your immune system up to 50%. That and now my hips and ankle don't hurt. So there you go. The joys of getting older. :)
A few weeks ago...hmm...I think it was right after Christmas time, Jeffrey and I got a nasty cold. His automatically had a cough attached... mine just had a lot of kleenex usage involved... I helped temper it by using essential oils, but I still got sinusitis.
Tomorrow I start my second round of zithromax. Zithromax isn't something they typically like to give to people for sinusitis, because it doesn't stay in the system long enough, but since I am allergic to almost every other family of antibiotics, they have to prescribe it to me.
This is one of the huge reasons why I try to get the infections and things to not even start by using essential oils when I first get a virus.
I did start to feel better almost immediately after starting the first round...but then, whether because I got a different cold with similar symptoms or what, the drainage slowly started returning, and now I have a lovely cough too, and I've lost my voice, and basically just feel yucko.
My OB doctor knows about it though, so I am definitely keeping tabs with him, and tonight I finally got the humidifier out...or I guess I should say, Shane got the humidifier out, and hopefully that will help too.
My last monthly OB visit was on Wednesday, and everything sounded and measured fine. Now I start having appointments every two weeks! At my next visit they will do another ultrasound.
I went and saw my chiropractor today too. Hopefully that will boost my immune system enough to get rid of this nasty cold! Apparently being adjusted can boost your immune system up to 50%. That and now my hips and ankle don't hurt. So there you go. The joys of getting older. :)
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Whoosh!
So, apparently this cold has kicked my butt more than I realized. Today was the day that I decided it had been long enough for my body to figure out if it was going to get rid of the sinus gunk with just essential oils (which it has done before) or if it needed the added kick in the pants from an antibiotic.
It was also the day I took Jeffrey back to the doctor since it had been almost 2 weeks since he first started fighting the same cold. So, he's on an antibiotic too.
Hopefully we will begin to see an improvement!
Anyway, the doctor appointment was in the morning, and Shane asked me if I needed him to come with me. I told him we would be fine, and that he could go to bed.
Apparently I didn't take into account that my body seems to need extra help right now since I have zero energy and as Shane likes to tell me "You're GROWING A BABY." Needless to say, by the end of our doctor visit excursion, I was wiped out, and Jeffrey was rearing to go since he got a short nap in the car.
Still, I have survived, Shane is up now, and I am resting! Yay!
It was also the day I took Jeffrey back to the doctor since it had been almost 2 weeks since he first started fighting the same cold. So, he's on an antibiotic too.
Hopefully we will begin to see an improvement!
Anyway, the doctor appointment was in the morning, and Shane asked me if I needed him to come with me. I told him we would be fine, and that he could go to bed.
Apparently I didn't take into account that my body seems to need extra help right now since I have zero energy and as Shane likes to tell me "You're GROWING A BABY." Needless to say, by the end of our doctor visit excursion, I was wiped out, and Jeffrey was rearing to go since he got a short nap in the car.
Still, I have survived, Shane is up now, and I am resting! Yay!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Inversion ick
It has been a long week. About a week and a half ago Jeffrey and I got a cold. A nasty one. Jeffrey, has a very good immune system. With him, he usually gets a cold, and then has overcome it in about three days. He rarely if ever gets coughs, and is just one robust little kid, which is kind of nice considering he only has one kidney, and there's lots that could be difficult.
Well, this cold has stuck around, and Jeffrey has a yucky cough. It has stuck around with me too. I thought we were both getting better, and then the inversion happened. Inversion air is something that happens where we live because of the mountains and valleys. Enter cold air and air pressure, and we get a lovely nasty air that feels like you have to chew it to breathe. It usually sticks around until another storm front rolls in.
It has also made it impossible to get this yucky cold to go away!
So, here's to hoping it will go away and we will get feeling better soon!
Well, this cold has stuck around, and Jeffrey has a yucky cough. It has stuck around with me too. I thought we were both getting better, and then the inversion happened. Inversion air is something that happens where we live because of the mountains and valleys. Enter cold air and air pressure, and we get a lovely nasty air that feels like you have to chew it to breathe. It usually sticks around until another storm front rolls in.
It has also made it impossible to get this yucky cold to go away!
So, here's to hoping it will go away and we will get feeling better soon!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
And So It Goes...
Well, each day I have progressively felt better. My mom has been watching Jeffrey at night so I will get the rest my body needs to heal, and that has been so helpful.
This weekend, we were going to have Jeffrey back with us, because Shane was going to be home to help out.
Well....
Friday Shane was asked to work overtime, which we desperately need, so my mom took Jeffrey at night.
Friday was also the day Hazel told me she didn't feel well, and I ended up having to get her at school because she felt sick.
Then, this morning she got sick all over her bedroom, and she had diarrhea too. *joy* She couldn't keep anything down.
I was REALLY glad that Jeffrey wasn't here for this.
So, I took her to the doctor, just to make sure it was only a stomach bug. By that time she had been able to keep down a few sips of pedialyte. Her throat looked okay, ears okay, and no fever. So that was all good news. Also good news that this particular bug seems to be a nasty but short one, at least in the not keeping food down department. The other could last up to five days, BUT when we got home I put some essential oils on her tummy and she hasn't had a problem the rest of the day!!! Yay for essential oils!
The doctor highly recommended that Jeffrey stay with my mom until the bug was done though, so, he is there again tonight.
I am hoping that Hazel will still feel good in the morning though, because that means we can bring Jeffrey home! I have missed him so much. I even went up and spent the day at my parents so I could be with him. Part of me feels like he is already forgetting the bond that we had. It was a bond that I never really felt with my other kids. They were both daddy babies, but Jeffrey you could tell always wanted me. Hopefully it will come back once we get him home again...
This weekend, we were going to have Jeffrey back with us, because Shane was going to be home to help out.
Well....
Friday Shane was asked to work overtime, which we desperately need, so my mom took Jeffrey at night.
Friday was also the day Hazel told me she didn't feel well, and I ended up having to get her at school because she felt sick.
Then, this morning she got sick all over her bedroom, and she had diarrhea too. *joy* She couldn't keep anything down.
I was REALLY glad that Jeffrey wasn't here for this.
So, I took her to the doctor, just to make sure it was only a stomach bug. By that time she had been able to keep down a few sips of pedialyte. Her throat looked okay, ears okay, and no fever. So that was all good news. Also good news that this particular bug seems to be a nasty but short one, at least in the not keeping food down department. The other could last up to five days, BUT when we got home I put some essential oils on her tummy and she hasn't had a problem the rest of the day!!! Yay for essential oils!
The doctor highly recommended that Jeffrey stay with my mom until the bug was done though, so, he is there again tonight.
I am hoping that Hazel will still feel good in the morning though, because that means we can bring Jeffrey home! I have missed him so much. I even went up and spent the day at my parents so I could be with him. Part of me feels like he is already forgetting the bond that we had. It was a bond that I never really felt with my other kids. They were both daddy babies, but Jeffrey you could tell always wanted me. Hopefully it will come back once we get him home again...
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